1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to swivel deck systems for flatcar loading and unloading and particularly to swivel deck systems for flatcar loading and unloading road trailers using forklifts with the swivel deck.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Currently all road trailers that are carried on railroad flat cars are configured as either TOFC (trailer on flat car) or COFC (container on flat car). The TOFC configuration uses approximately 30 feet of railcar deck to hold the rear section of the trailer wheel set in a wheel track guide. The wheel track guide keeps the trailer wheel set centered. The front of the trailer is carried only by a king plate assembly mounted on the rail car deck, into which the kingpin of the trailer is secured. This transportation system can carry trailers from 20 feet to 53 feet in length.
The current loading/off loading process calls for the road trailers to be staged near the rail line. This is done using a LETOURNEAU top-lifting system or a MI-JACK Translift gantry crane to lift the load on and off the TOFC or flatcar. This process is laborious, dangerous, and time consuming. At best, the system takes an average of 3 minutes to load/off load a 50,000-pound load per trailer. Additionally, the current equipment in use requires higher than average maintenance.